Shaking herself, Sara knew very well why it couldn’t. It was because she didn’t live in a castle in the sky, and at some point, the magic spell was bound to break. Still, every girl deserved to have a guy make them feel the way Philip had made her feel. Every girl deserved to be in love the way she loved Philip, even if it only lasted a week.
As she wiped off the smeared mascara, something caught her eye in the rearview mirror. Oh my God. It was Philip! He was desperately looking through the rear windshield. When he saw her inside, he called her name. “Sara!”
Philip limped around to the passenger side. He tried opening the door. “Unlock the door.” He thumped hard on the window with the palm of his hand. “What’s going on?”
“Leave me alone,” she called back.
His muffled voice cut through the barrier between them. “I’ve been calling and texting and looking everywhere for you for the past twenty minutes. Why’d you leave?”
Only twenty minutes? Felt like hours to her. “You know exactly why,” she spat. She looked out the windshield and would have driven off if she weren’t worried about running over his foot or something. “Go away. I don’t want to see you ever again.”
“What?” The shocked tone of his voice almost sounded genuine. “Sweetheart, what’s going on? Why are you angry at me?”
Angry? Angry didn’t even begin to describe the way she felt. Did he really not have the good sense to at least feel a little guilty about what he’d done? Suddenly, Sara felt another wave of tears coming on, but she was determined to be strong and not let him see her break down.
“Please Sara, unlock the door. Let’s talk about this.”
Should she? Should she let him in? If she did, she just might strangle him. It was definitely safer for him to be out there. “No, go away.”
Philip exhaled sadly and turned around. She thought she saw the life force leave his body as he leaned against the passenger door.
Sara made a split second decision to unlock the door, although she wasn’t sure why. As soon as he heard the click, he turned around, opened the door, and climbed inside.
He took her hand, but she pulled it away. “Talk to me, sweetheart, please.” He glanced at the steering column. “Can you at least turn off the engine? What did I do to make you so mad?”
Sara clicked the key to the off position. She turned her head to leer at him. “Don’t give me that innocent look. I saw you! I saw you kissing that girl.”
“Huh?”
“Oh please Philip, you know I’m not stupid. I saw you with my own two eyes. It was midnight and you were supposed to be kissing me.” She brought her hand to her chest and choked up. “But you were kissing some other girl instead. I thought I meant something to you, but I guess you’re just one hell of an actor.”
“Sara stop.” He held his hand up. “I wasn’t kissing anyone.”
“Bull! Stop lying to me. I saw you!”
“Listen to me, would you? I wasn’t kissing her. She was kissing me…”
“Ha! You used that excuse already when you were telling me about that cheerleader, Brittany. I’m disappointed you couldn’t come up with something more original.”
“Let me finish, okay? She was going around kissing every guy in the club. Ask anyone.” He pointed out the back window. “Go inside right now and ask anyone. In fact, why don’t you ask the girl yourself. She’s probably still making the rounds.”
Sara faced forward and stared out the windshield. She tried to visualize the kiss, but she had only seen it for a nanosecond. She couldn’t bear to watch any longer than that, so she really couldn’t be sure that Philip was kissing her back.
“I don’t even know who the hell she is,” he added, while waiting for Sara to reply. He leaned his arm over the back of her seat. “Look, I know we haven’t known each other for that long, so I get why maybe you wouldn’t trust me yet, but here’s something you should know about me. I’m a one-woman man. And you’re that one woman, Sara. You and no one else.”
He touched her chin and gently turned her face toward him. Gazing into his eyes, she felt her hurt and anger melting away. “Really?” she asked.
“Really.” He smiled at her so sincerely. “I mean, why would I kiss another girl when I’m in love with you?”
Sara blinked several times. He’d just said the words she’d been longing to hear for weeks. “You’re…in love with me? You never told me.”
“Only because you told me not to say it.”
Sara looked down for a minute, feeling embarrassed. Smiling shyly, she said, “I meant you shouldn’t say it while we were in the throes of passion, because that’s when everyone thinks they’re in love.” Looking up at him, she added, “I didn’t mean you should never say it.”
“Oh,” he said a little sheepishly. “In that case, I guess I’ve got some missed opportunities to make up for.” He licked his lips and leaned closer. Sara pressed on his chest to hold him at bay. He looked puzzled.
She plucked another Kleenex from the tissue box and lifted a small bottle of hand sanitizer from the console. She squeezed a dollop on the tissue and cupped Philip’s chin. “I don’t want to kiss you with some other girl’s cooties all over your lips.” She chuckled.
When Sara applied the sanitizer to his lips, Philip exclaimed, “Ow. That stings.”
“That’s nothing compared to the hurt I felt a few minutes ago.” Sara leaned closer and kissed him. She reeled back and touched her own lips. “Oh you’re right. That does sting,” she said, laughing.
“It’ll get better with practice. I love you Sara,” he whispered as he wrapped her in his arms and drew her into a prolonged kiss.
“I love you too,” she murmured against his mouth without breaking the kiss.
Leaning away, Sara looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t where I was supposed to be when midnight came. Um. There was a line in the ladies room.”
“It’s okay, I’ll make it up to you later tonight.”
“Promise?” she asked seductively.
With a kiss, he said, “And tomorrow.” He kissed her again. “And the next day.” And again. “And the next. And of course, there’s always next year.”
“I like the way you think. Happy New Year, Philip.”
Sara pulled the car into the Masons’ garage and turned off the motor. She opened the driver’s side door, stepped out of the car, and pressed the button on the wall that lowered the garage door. When she looked back at the car, she saw that the passenger side door was open, but Philip hadn’t gotten out.
She fretted when she saw that he’d made no effort to get out of the car. “Philip? Are you okay?” She cautiously walked around to his side of the car. She bent forward to look inside. “Do you need help?”
Philip looked in her direction and nodded. He had a funny look on his face, not what she expected. “What can I do for you?” she asked.
He reached for her hand and pulled her closer. When she was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her inside. She let out a little yelp and instinctively placed her arms behind his neck for leverage. “What are you doing?” she asked, laughing.
He held the back of her head and whispered, “This,” before kissing her. He wrapped an arm around her legs and made sure they were tucked fully inside the car. Once secure, he gripped the handle alongside the seat and slid it back to give him more leg room.
Sara leaned away. “What are you doing? You’re making me dizzy. I feel like I’m on an amusement park ride,” she joked.
“That’s good.” He chuckled, adding, “Because we’re about to have the ride of our lives.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh? And what did you have in mind?” She was about to ask if he’d done this before, when he kissed her again, this time far more deeply than the last kiss. Her eyes closed involuntarily and she relaxed in his arms. His hands glided down her bare shoulders, inching the sleeves of her off-the-shoulder blouse lower and lower until her strapless bra was fully exposed.
She pulled away a little to see what he was doing. This wasn’t what she was expecting, but she didn’t question it. If he wanted to make out with her in the car, she was most definitely up for it. In fact, she was up for pretty much anything he wanted to do. He had yet to disappoint her, and she marveled at how he was never at a loss for new ways to turn her on.
His eyelids were half closed as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her cleavage. Sara tilted her head backward, enjoying the feel of his lips on her chest and his hands all over her bra. “Wait,” she said, pulling away a little.
He looked at her quizzically and watched as Sara repositioned herself so she was straddling Philip. Her short skirt inched upward and settled around her hips.
“Comfortable?” he asked sarcastically.
“Not a bit—” she giggled “—but I’m working on it.” Inwardly she laughed at how awkward her new position was; her knees were halfway off the upholstery of the seat, pressing up against the interior wall of the car on one side and spilling onto the console near the gear shift on the other. But she decided she was willing to give up her creature comfort in exchange for the pleasures of the flesh.
“Come here,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and capturing her lips again.
“Philip, I want you to touch me,” she murmured against his mouth. He broke the kiss to look at her face and then down at her bra. In one motion, he unclasped her bra and released her breasts from their confines.
Tossing the bra onto the driver’s seat, he said in a husky voice, “Told you I’d make it up to you for that missed midnight kiss.” Philip closed his mouth around one breast and fondled the other one in circles under his palm, sending convulsions through her body.
“
Ooooh
.” Sara moaned with pleasure. Through her sexual haze, she could feel Philip’s erection straining against his slacks. While he was giving her breasts his full attention, she fumbled with his belt buckle. She opened his belt and slowly unzipped his pants, massaging him gently. He groaned and gripped the handle at the side of the chair again, this time adjusting the seat into a reclining position. He closed his eyes and allowed Sara to take control. “Oh baby. You are so close,” he whispered.
She smiled and bit her lip, increasing the pressure and speed with which she stroked him. He grasped her hand to slow her down. “Not yet,” he told her. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush on top of him. Her hair lightly brushed his face before he thrust his tongue into her mouth.
Breaking the kiss, he arched his back, grinding his groin against hers. His erection was hard and swollen as it pressed against her sweet spot. The constant pressure was exquisite. She was hot and she was sweaty, and she was dying for release. She felt herself rushing toward orgasm, and she knew Philip well enough to know he was about to burst, too. He was breathing hard, repeating, “Baby, yes, do it.” Even through their clothes and without intercourse, they both came to orgasm.
With her ear pressed to his chest, Sara could feel his heart beating so fast and so hard, it sounded like it was thumping inside her head. Or maybe it was her own heart that was pounding. Catching her breath, she murmured, “I can already tell this is going to be a great year.”
»»•««
Lying in Philip’s bed after the wild ride in the car, Sara leaned her chin on Philip’s stomach, staring up at him. He was rhythmically lifting strands of her hair between his fingers, a gentle gesture that felt so intimate and loving. She felt so content right now.
“I know I’ve said this before, but I wish we could stay like this forever,” she mused. “I don’t ever want to leave.”
“Me either, but the team has a game on the second.”
“I know,” she said, rolling over and resting the back of her head on his chest. “I just don’t want things to change. Between us, I mean. I like the way they are right now.”
He locked his arms around her. “They won’t change,” he said, leaning in to kiss the top of her head. “Not if we don’t let them.”
Sara got goose bumps when he said that. She stroked his arm. “Philip, would you teach me about football?”
“Hmmm. Well, how much do you know?”
“The better question might be how little do I know.”
“Have you ever been to a game?”
“Um. No.”
“Have you watched a game?”
Sara was about to say no when she remembered all the time she’d spent in the library watching films. “I watched thirty-eight games!”
Philip let out a laugh and tightened his hold on her. “So, did you understand it at all?”
“Some of it. The basics anyway. I caught on after a while, but I was more focused on watching you than watching the game,” she admitted. “Let’s see. You score a touchdown, you get seven points.”
“Six points,” he corrected. “You need to kick the extra point. How about we watch one of those recorded games together? I can explain it while we watch. I’ll get a chance to tutor
you
for a change.”
“I’d love that.” She especially loved making plans with Philip and knowing they were going to be doing things together when they got back to campus. Plus, if she was going to be the girlfriend of a football player, she needed to understand the game better. She probably needed to understand her boyfriend better, too. “Philip? I owe you an apology.”
“You do? What for?”
Sara rolled back onto her stomach and rested her cheek on Philip’s torso. “For acting like a lunatic tonight. It was our first New Year’s and it was supposed to be special.”
“Hey, I'd have felt the same way if I saw you kissing another guy.” He lightly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “The truth is, tonight you reminded me of the way you were when we first met, all fiery and defensive.”
Smiling, she lifted her head up to look at him. “Which Sara do you like better? Fiery Sara or kinder, gentler Sara?”
He returned her smile. “Um. I think I’d better be careful how I answer.”
“Yeah, you’d better,” she laughed as she answered.
He looked into her eyes and got serious. “I like all of you, Sara, every part. But I'm most grateful to the Sara who let her defenses down long enough for me to fall in love with her.”
Sara’s lips parted as Philip continued to hold her gaze. No one had ever spoken to her this way before or treated her the way Philip did—it felt like he put her on a pedestal, a place she never thought she’d be, and she wasn’t sure what made her worthy of the honor. Tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m grateful to her too,” she finally whispered.